UK:Anti-trafficking sector joint briefing on the Illegal Migration Bill, July 2023

It will deny thousands of survivors access to National Referral Mechanism (NRM) protections. The NRM helps to identify and refer survivors of human trafficking to the appropriate sources i.e. legal services, counselling support, housing support, etc. Under Clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill, if a survivor entered the UK through irregular routes, even if they were made to through the use of force, fraud or threat and the abuse of their vulnerability, they would no longer qualify for support or protection, and instead be met with risk of detention, removal, or uncertainty.

This discourages survivors to seek help as they know they will not be supported if they do, meaning many will stay silent and remain in exploitation. Others who do manage to escape their traffickers will be forced underground, avoiding contact with authorities or institutions that might have previously been able to help support them, and instead may become homeless and be at risk of re-exploitation.

The Illegal Migration Bill empowers traffickers to continue to exploit people, as their threats align with the reality, that victims will be denied support and potentially face deportation. It armours and strengthens the power traffickers have when exploiting victims. While the Bill outlines to further harm to survivors, it does not include the measures to improve the prosecution and conviction of traffickers or outline how survivors gain access to justice.

The UK’s record on holding traffickers to account for their crimes and securing justice and remedy for survivors has been substandard to date. In 2020, only 89 defendants were prosecuted under the Modern Slavery Act on a ‘principal offence’ basis, with just 10 convictions that year. This in comparison to the estimated 122,000 people living in modern slavery in the UK (1.8 people per thousand), is shocking. The Illegal Migration Bill unfortunately will further exacerbate this issue.

The Illegal Migration Bill will make the UK breach the European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, among other international conventions, outlined below.